Indiana Police are drawing attention to the ongoing problem of motorists who drive unsafely around semi-trucks.
According to the ATA, in crashes involving a semi and a four-wheel vehicle, in 60 percent of the cases, the car driver is to blame.
ATA Road Team Captain Chad Miller stated that drivers tend to act irrationally around big rigs, and make mistakes such as speeding up, cutting them off or following them too closely.
Indiana State Police (ISP) Trooper Rob Hawkins told media that he has begun a blitz in order to warn drivers about the dangers of reckless driving around semi-trucks. According to CBS 4 Indy, ISP issued close to 100 warnings to individuals driving unsafely around semis.
This State Trooper highlighted that trucking companies are always trying to improve their safety ratings, and that four-wheel vehicles need to understand their role in dangerous driving.
Hawkins stated that the biggest danger is cars following semis too closely. He furthers that a driver must keep the legal distance from a semi so that the four blind spots of a semi are not obstructed.
In the video, Hawkins comments:
“What a lot of people don’t realize is that it’s an 80,000-pound vehicle versus a 6-7 thousand pound car, and you’re gonna lose every time.”
Chad Miller emphasized that many people fail to remember the people who are driving semi trucks, and that truckers just want to get home to see their kids.
Miller furthered that:
“I’ve seen some accidents that those people aren’t going to be there again, that’s the end of their life that day. And when they got in the car that morning that’s the last thing they thought was going to happen to them.”
Hawkins is trying to keep roads safe for all drivers and urges four-wheel drivers to allow trucks 300 feet of following distance.
By following the rules of the road and by showing truck drivers some respect, the roads will be a safer place.
